Honest Hearts: The Little Brave Heart
by dan heron
Summary: Somebody should have told Mato that sometimes, saving the girl is just to beginning of the story. Now the heroine needs to work for her happy ever after, no matter how many more girls she will have to save to get there... even if she has to drag them kicking and screaming
1. Chapter 0: You can't rescue me

**Black Rock Shooter, Honest Hearts **

**0: You can't rescue me**

"_**Shut up!**_"

She started and her whole body screamed in pain as the sudden movement upset the wounds covering her entire body, but she ignored it all. She could only focusing on Yomi's furious face.

"Yomi, wai-."

"**I said shut up, Mato!**"

Yomi's hand lashed out, and blue eyes widened in fright. Before Mato could say anything, the chains tightened around her entire body and she chocked in her breath, fighting to keep from throwing up when the wave of pressure washed over her. The bloodied wound on her side almost burst open again, and a little voice in the back of her head told her that a just a nudge more and the metallic staples that kept the wound closed would snap off.

Pitiful croaks came from her mouth and her fingers twitched, grabbing and pulling desperately on the chains around her arms, looking for something, anything that could get the torture to stop.

"**Just shut up already,"** a venomous voice growled in her ear and she managed to open her eyes a fraction, catching a glimpse of the most beautiful eyes glaring poison down at her.

A black hand covered her mouth and metallic, clawed fingers dug into the sides of head, letting blood run down the sides of her face. The pressure of the chains and the grip on her head became unbearable, her chest was all but ready to explode at any second now and she couldn't even scream in pain!

Then everything stopped.

The chain loosened its hold on her but before Mato could gasp for breath Yomi slammed Mato's head against the wall behind her. The tall girl sauntered back, letting her captive helplessly sag on her bonds. Mato choked, gagged and coughed as she tried to bring precious air back into her burning lungs once again, she barely noticed the new explosion of stars flashing behind her eyelids or the chunks of debris raining down behind her.

She froze at the sound of a voice whispering, almost lovingly. "**You always were such an adorable idiot, Mato. Like a confused puppy."**

"Yomi, I-."

Mato's blue eyes widened in shock at the method Yomi used to silence her now. Their lips met for an all too short moment before parting again. Yomi's lips were stained with blood that she licked away. "**You... Mato you'll stay here. Always here where you won't run away, can't leave me ever again,"** Yomi's quiet words almost escaped Mato. So faint and sad...

So _angry_...

"I-I never left you, Y-Yomi."

"**Liar."**

That simple word was like a slap to the face to Mato. She felt as if the world was spinning and she was falling at the same time.

**"You betrayed me already, but never again."**

"Yomi, I-I would never, never hurt you," Mato said in a quivering voice. "I-I could never hurt you, I would never think of-of doing anything like that!" The idea that she could have done anything to Yomi, her Little Bird... no, it couldn't be right! There was no way that could have ever happened... "I would rather die before ever hurting yo-."

The chains around her neck suddenly tightened so hard that Mato felt the skin breaking open, the links grinding against strips of her black blood. Anything she had tried to say died out in a choked scream. They kept on crushing her neck until Mato started to see spots dancing in front of her eyes, but Yomi's words were so clear.

**"I know you, Mato, I know that I can't trust your word any more. Such a good liar you are, always looking me in the eye, telling me how much you loved me, but you replaced me without a second thought! Tossed me away like a piece of trash when you found somebody better, didn't you? That's how much I was worth to you, how much I **_**ever**_ **meant to you. I was only the friendless rich girl you took pity on and you only kept me around because it amused you. But don't worry, I will never, ever, replace you, Mato."**

Yomi stood up and took a step back. The chains immediately eased up, leaving Mato coughing up bloodied spit.

_Oh god, I'm a mess..._

It was several long seconds before Mato could breath again, still breaking into coughing fits. "You... don't want to be rescued, do you Yomi?" Mato whispered, letting her head hang low. The sound of Yomi's chuckling darkly made Mato clench her teeth, trying to keep the tears from spilling.

**"You could never rescue anybody, Mato... I thought you would be my knight in shinning armor, that you would make things better, that you would fill this void, but no."**

Mato tried to shrink away from the look in Yomi's eyes, but no matter what, she couldn't look away. Hopelessly drawn into that acid green glow that promised only pain.

"**Not a knight, not a prince, not my savior..."** Mato flinched with each title, feeling lower than the lower. "**You're just fine where you are now. Here where you can never hurt me again, where you will never hurt and never leave me."**

"I couldn't rescue you..." Mato whispered, a shuddering sob making her body tremble, she finally let the dam break. Maybe Yomi was right. Maybe Mato did deserve this.

"**You can't rescue me."**

Mato flinched as if Yomi had struck her again.

This is what she wanted, didn't she?

She wanted to be with Yomi, no matter what.

What was the point of fighting then?

Bloodied, chained, broken and defeated, Mato nodded.

Yomi's face split in a delighted and twisted smile of victory as the little blue star finally stopped burning.


	2. Chapter 1: I want to stay

**Honest Hearts: The Little Brave Heart  
**

**Chapter 1: I want to stay**

**By Dan-Heron**

"_I'm not sure how or when it started, but here I am." _

The girl tossed and turned in her sleep, one hand clenching the sheets tightly while the other clawed at her head. Her mouth opened several times as if she were talking but no sound louder than a pained whimper escaped her lips.

Her bed creaked as her body suddenly spasmed and her back arched off the bed. Her eyes opened wide and for a moment a little blue light seemed to dance in her left eye, but just as quickly it was gone. A strained hiss was the only sound she made even as she grabbed her short dark hair with both hands as if trying to fight off a terrible headache.

Then, almost like somebody flipping off a switch inside her, she flopped bonelessly into the comfort of her bed and her ragged breath started to calm down again. The distressed sounds quickly turned into a relaxed snore and she kept sleeping as if nothing had happened.

By the time she woke up next morning, snuggled warm and well rest under a cocoon of warm fabric, there would be no trace anything had happened. Just a night like any other. Nothing that could let the blue-eyed girl know anything so fundamentally important to her had changed at all.

**~Dying Flame~**

Blue eyes flew open with a short-lived glow, staring without seeing at the dark sky above her.

"**Where am I?"** there was confusion for a moment and her eyes tried to focus on something, anything she could recognize.

"**Who am-?"**

Her mind slowly tried to understand what was happening, to remember.

Then the pain came.

It hurt so badly she couldn't move without risking her own body fighting against her orders. It was a terrible sensation, as if her body had been torn apart and something were trying to burst out from within her flesh.

Her jaw clenched shut with a whimper, trying to stave off the pain but that only added to the torment of not knowing what was happening. She couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't escape...

_... The golden blade was coming closer... _

She tried to curl into herself, but she could only manage a jerky twitch before the pain knocked her on her flat on her back.

... _her arms crushed under the rocks and her leg finally snapped off her body..._

A hiss escaped through clenched teeth, not knowing what those images meant.

Why did she have to feel like that. Why… Why was she here? No, she knew. She knew there was a reason for this. The reason she existed...

But, did it even matter?

She swallowed the bloodied lump in her throat, almost throwing up bile immediately afterwards, and finally managed to get her breathing under control. In the moment of respite, she finally became aware of something else.

She was alone…

A new pain accompanied the agony of her body with the knowledge of her loneliness. She didn't know why that fact hurt so much, but knowing there was nothing, nobody besides her...

"**I'm... alone..."**

That was worse than anything else. Not even the feeling of her body splitting apart if she moved in the wrong direction could compare to that pain of this solitude.

Maybe she should just close her eyes and let go.

~Naïve Heart~

She was ready to take on the world!

A new school, a new year, and new chances of making friends this time! She had been up and ready since dawn had broken and had enjoyed an early breakfast with Mom; she had some toast and juice, stopped by to wake up the brat of her brother and then she was out! She'd even gotten to check her special place and snapped a few photos.

Checking the pic on her phone made her grimace at the time.

As she ran down the street she couldn't help grinning a little to herself. This was a new chance to start fresh, and if she kept trying her best then good things would come to her without a doubt.

She reached the train in a mad sprint, with the doors closing right behind her and she leaned against the glass, panting a little. She was in a pretty good shape, but that had been a long run! Taking a calming breath she looked around, looking for a seat but found none; she saw boys and girls in her school's uniform though. She noticed a group of giggling girls looking in her direction and she chewed her lip a little; they looked so clean and nice and well, girly, that she couldn't help feeling a bit self-conscious about her own looks. She checked her reflection on the doors and tried fixing her tie and taming her hair. Hopefully the ponytails looked good enough... a bit uneven...

Getting down from the train she made the short walk towards the school, waving good morning to all the boys and girls she could, trying to make a good first impression. She could get to know many of them later on, right?

The school was already in sight and she hurried a little before seeing a car parking in front of the school.

_'Wow, that's such a nice car. Looks expensive too,'_ she noticed. One of the doors opened and a girl came out.

**~Dying Flame~**

She let out a pained gasp, almost surprising her enough to make her move out of her resting place.

Once she calmed enough she blinked in confusion, looking around to see what had woken her up but couldn't find anything, only the checkered floors and walls. Slowly she looked down, where crusted black and **blue** liquid covered most of her body but she did not care for that. Her eyes narrowed at something beating in the middle of her torso and then she closed her eyes, trying to concentrate.

There was a feeling in her chest! One strong enough to overpower everything else for a moment.

It was…strange. It hurt, but not "_bad_" like the rest of the pain.

It was…nice, but so confusing.

She opened her eyes again but instead of the darkness and chaos, she could see…the sky… the street… her school…?

"**Such green eyes…"**

~Awed Heart~

She stared in a stunned wonder as the other girl climbed out of the car. Everything looked like it was moving in slow motion and every sound got really quiet. There was nothing she could do to avert her gaze as the girl leaned over to the window and smiled -_what a smile!_- to the driver in a way that made her feel a little dizzy in the head.

A little voice in the back of her head told her to close her mouth but she wasn't really paying attention.

Then the other girl looked in her direction…

**'Such green eyes…' **

And she gasped, finally noticing she had held her breath the entire time. The other girl simply closed her eyes and turned around, not even saying hi or anything… She felt a little pang in her chest, but she ignored it, pushing the pain away.

She looked on at the retreating back of the other girl for a moment as the green-eyed girl made her way towards the school. Without thinking she started to move again, her eyes firmly locked on the other girl's back with such intensity that she only noticed she had walked towards the school's metallic, barred gates until she had run face first against said gates.

She shook her head trying to get rid of the white spots on her eyes, and after making sure her nose hadn't been squashed, she moved away from the traitorous obstacle, looking on as the other girl continued walking as if she hadn't heard the loud **gong**. She stared, not knowing what else to do, for several long moments…

Well, that is until a group of girls behind her pushed her out of the way to let them walk into the school.

Embarrassed enough as it was at getting caught ogling at the other girl, she quickly moved away from the gate and gave them quick bow before they walked past her, not even looking at her apologizing. _'Nice first impression,' _she thought with a wince. She quickly recovered though and looked in the direction the mysterious girl had left.

**~Flame~**

Even when the world went back to colorless dark shades, she couldn't go back to sleep.

Every time she tried to close her eyes and let herself go back into the dark, she instead would see those green eyes. Every time she remembered those green eyes that pain in her chest grew stronger. Every time that pain made itself known it drove her more and more confused. That feeling in her chest was so different from the pain of the rest of her body for a simple reason.

It felt good.

With each passing moment she realized she wanted to see those eyes again… she wanted to feel that delicate and pale skin… touch that gentle smile… she wanted to have that smile directed at her.

She wanted to find her again.

She needed to find her again.

~Naïve Heart~

_'She's in my class.' _

That was the only she could think off. That thought kept on bouncing over anything the teacher tried to tell them, making her want to rise from her seat and walk closer to the green-eyed girl to get a better look and not be distracted by the teacher. She managed to stay put, but her body was bursting with curiosity and quite a bit of confusion that she could barely keep herself from making a fool of herself. As it was, the teacher was still talking and telling them something about the opening ceremony, so she simply tried to sneak a better look of that tall girl, without being terribly obvious about it, but when that failed she stared at the sheet in front of her.

It was the seat placement with all the names of the class. She counted the rows and found the name she was looking for…

_'Wow, that's a hard name to read! What kind of kanji is that? Kotori... Asobi...? Little birds playing, huh?' _

What an odd name for such a pretty person. She looked back to the other girl and felt her face heating up when the elegant girl gently brushed a look away from her face before sitting perfectly straight and paying attention as it was to be expected of the students, with this air around her that said refined, high-class.

The other girl's presence seemed to scream: _"I'm a princess and you can't touch me, or you'll get tossed in the dungeon."_

She smiled as she couldn't help imagining the other girl dressed in pretty and expensive clothes, like those of royalty! Wouldn't it be fun if she was really a princess - the daughter of a daimyo of old dressed in one of those flowing kimonos? Or at least the daughter of a rich family, heir of the clan! … Maybe a Yakuza princess? Uh-oh, the teacher was looking in her direction.

**~Sleeping Flame~**

She tried to stay awake but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The pain from before had kept her from resting, and then those green eyes made her feel extremely restless; by now she was just drained. The physical pain was nothing but a dull ache, just an insignificant reminder that she couldn't move in her present state.

The odd pain in her chest was still there, but it was slightly different now. For some reason the need to find that girl wasn't as consuming as before, as if she had already found her, as impossible as that was.

The urge to close her eyes became even stronger and she clenched her fists, knowing that she wouldn't be able to stay awake. The idea of just stop existing had been so appealing some time ago, but now it caused an unusual emotion to course through her body, an emotion she didn't want to feel.

No matter how hard she tried, she knew it was impossible to stay. No matter how much she wanted to, it was just impossible.

For some reason she felt her eyes brimming with tears and a new pain grew in her chest.

Her eyes finally closed and she felt something trickling down her cheeks.

_'No, I can find a way. I can't just give up without trying!' _

For a moment she blinked her eyes open, and a little light seemed to flicker within them, before the exhaustion forced them closed again. As the darkness engulfed her a single thought went through her mind.

**"Can't give up." **

~Naïve Heart~

_'Those skirts are kinda short, aren't they?'_ she couldn't help thinking, self-consciously pulling down her own skirt but she still stared as she passed another group of girls. _'Argh, focus!' _

They were making their way back to the classroom after the opening ceremony was _finally _over when she finally spotted the elegant girl. She thought the elegant girl would have had a flock of girls wanting to be friends with her by now, but the green-eyed girl was walking alone. Nobody was even trying to approach her either. Good! It was her chance to make her move then!

… Now just how was she going to do that?

Okay, so she had no idea how to approach another girl, but it couldn't be that hard, right? Yeah, she was nervous as heck, but she only had to go there and say hi, right? Right!

But, the car other girl came to school in looked pretty expensive, and she had this super refined air around her, and her skin and hair looked like those of magazine models... Was there anything she could even talk with the other girl about? Maybe such a classy girl would just tell her to go away and never bother her again...

_'… No, I can find a way. I can't just give up without trying!'_ She nodded decisively, squaring her shoulders.

**'Can't give up.'**

She smiled and hurried to catch up with the tall girl. She cleared her throat and pushed on with all the courage she had.

"Hey! Uh..."

The other girl pulled back in surprise. "Y-yes?" The most beautiful green eyes ever were looking solely at her.

Courage quickly decided to retreat... _traitor_.

Now that she had the other girl's attention she only needed something to talk about... _oh crud_. "Eh, ah well, you see... Oh yeah! Your height!" … _what? _

"My height?"

"Yes, you're tall! Must be nice," she said, raising a hand over her head, showing their different their heights.

The other girl only stared for a moment before saying a simple: "Right," and then walked away. She felt her stomach painfully twisting but she couldn't give up now. Plastering a smile on her face she caught up again with the taller girl.

"O-oh yeah, I saw you came in a car this morning. I was like, whoa, people really do that!" she said excitedly.

The other girl didn't even look in her direction. "I didn't want to, but my father insisted. So it was only for today."

"Do you live close by?"

"No, Machinami-cho."

She felt her heart about to burst out of her chest at that piece of info. "That's my neighborhood!" _That_ got a reaction. The other girl turned in surprise, as if looking at her for the first time.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I take the train from Kibata Station," she replied. The other girl immediately smiled a little and the sight made the shorter girl positively beam in sheer joy. She could even feel her cheeks warming up and her heart beat as fast as if she had run all the way from home.

"Well, we're neighbors," the tall girl said as if she couldn't believe it. "From tomorrow on I'll be taking the train from that station too, then."

"That's so cool!" That meant she would get to see other girl every morning! The trip to school would be awesome! "Hey, where did you go to elementary school?" she asked, relieved the Little Bird hadn't decided to fly away from her.

"Not around here. I just moved here recently," the other girl said in a subdued voice.

"Oh, that's why!"

The elegant girl looked at her in curiosity. "Why what?"

"Well, Kotori-Asobi is a pretty uncommon name! I would remember it if I had heard it before!"

All of sudden, the other girl giggled quietly behind her hand and the smaller girl looked at her in confusion.

"Takanashi," _no hawks? _

"What?"

"It's pronounced 'Takanashi'. But written with the characters for Little Bird Playing, _'Kotori-Asobi'_."

"Huh? Why is it pronounced as 'No Hawks'?"

"Well, where _'little birds play'_ there are _'no hawks'_."

Her eyes grew wide in understanding. "Oh... oh oh! I see! That's such a cool name... but a little difficult to read," she said with a little pout.

The other girl smiled cutely again.

"I think so too."

"Takanashi... Takanashi...," She started to say the name, almost as if tasting how it sounded, trying to memorize every syllable.

"Takanashi Yomi."

She blinked and turned back to Takanashi-san. "Uh?"

"My full name."

She was so surprised that she didn't know what to say for a moment. _'Her name is Yomi...' _

"Ah, Kuroi. Kuroi Mato! But you can call me Mato!" she replied, hoping with every fiber in her body that Yomi-san would call her by her name.

"Mato..." Yomi said slowly as if trying the name before a beautiful smile grew on her face. "That's a nice name."

_'She-she thinks my name is nice?'_ she could feel butterflies dancing in her stomach and she smiled so widely it hurt a little. She quickly turned around, trying to hide her blush."T-thanks!"

"Ah, Mato-chan!"

"Yes?" she asked, a big smile still plastered on her face.

"It's here. This is our classroom..." Yomi said with a little smile, pointing towards the plaque above the classroom.

Mato looked up. "Oh, right, yeah!" she chuckled in embarrassment, but hearing Yomi's amused giggles was enough to remove any shyness she could feel.

**~Sleeping Flame~**

She slept in the dark, dreaming of another world. One full of color. One where she could see those curious green eyes.

Some part of her was aware that **she** was alone and that knowledge caused pain to bloom through her chest. But she couldn't help but want the dreams about those to keep coming. Those green eyes, that porcelain-like skin, hair so black that it almost shined with a tint of green, and that smile that caused her chest to feel tight.

_'Mato, I have decided,'_ Yomi said with gentle smile.

That was enough.

She knew she wasn't really alone anymore.

She could sleep now.

~Naïve Heart~

Rushing every single morning towards their meeting point she never failed to see Yomi waiting for her. Even when Mato knew she wasn't on time, Yomi would only give her a gentle and amused smile as the tomboy tried to apologize.

"Don't worry, I just arrived too," Yomi would say without any hint of bad feelings.

She knew Yomi was lying so Mato wouldn't feel bad, so Mato always made sure to be extra nice to her friend as soon as possible. Carrying Yomi's bag was always a good start.

"You're a girl, you could try to be a little tidier. Seriously, at least get your tie right!"

Mato could only stay still during their train ride while Yomi would fuzz over her uniform. It happened from time to time when Mato's uniform needed a little fixing... It was a bit embarrassing to tell the truth. However, that wasn't enough to keep her from enjoying the feeling of Yomi's caring touch, of knowing that Yomi cared enough to do those little things every day. Funny enough, not even Yomi could get Mato's ponytails even.

"Th-that's a bit embarrassing, Mato! Come on, don't call me something that silly. I'm not a... Little Bird..."

Mato couldn't help chuckling at the blushing pout Yomi gave her the first time Mato called her a Little Bird. It was a more fitting nickname for Yomi than calling her a hawk in Mato's perfectly humble opinion. Yomi still blushed and stammered every time she called her a Little Bird and Mato couldn't get enough of it, hugging Yomi tightly every single time this happened. It was so much fun getting such cute reactions from the usually super calm and elegant Yomi.

"If you don't do it yourself, you'll never learn."

Yomi would chide her gently, and Mato would pout sadly, leaning against her friend's back, but as always, Yomi would slip her the notebook so Mato could copy the homework in the end. "Thank you Yomi! I love you!" she giggled, rubbing her cheek against Yomi's, getting Yomi to giggle in that way Mato loved to hear.

"No, please Mato, stop it! That tickles!"

The week the clubs finally started accepting applications Mato tried to get Yomi to sign up for the basketball club with her -after that demon of a captain had tricked Mato into signing herself-, but Yomi had been unsure and didn't get in the club in the end. Mato had been pretty down that week; she would be busy with the club while Yomi was somewhere else. Her elegant friend had been nice enough to wait for Mato through the entire team practices, but Mato couldn't help feeling bad having to see Yomi wait on the side alone for her.

One morning though, while Mato was copying Yomi's homework, her friend whispered only loud enough for Mato to hear.

"Mato, I've decided," Yomi said with a gentle and teasing smile, the sound of her voice sending a warm feeling through Mato's mind, pleasantly distracting her from her homework. "It's not basketball but something similar."

Mato could only tilt her head in confusion before the school's bell started ringing, reminding her of the task at hand. She hadn't understood at first, but that very afternoon she saw the volleyball team, the neighbors the basketball team shared the gym with, starting tryouts and who was there but Yomi dressed in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt. Mato had never seen Yomi practicing sports before so it wasn't really her fault she watched with a look of wonder and a silly smile as Yomi ran, jumped and hit the ball... until captain Kohata-chan knocked her upside the head and told her to stop gawking at the other girls.

Life had just been wonderful since she met Yomi... Everything was perfect, she never wanted that to change.

"Hey, have you got a few minutes to spare?" Mato asked Yomi out of the blue one afternoon as the sun painted the streets orange. They were making their way back home after a trip to a mall downtown; she touched the little bag in her pocket and decided it was just as good a moment as any to share something with Yomi.

"I guess so."

"There's somewhere I want to take you," Mato told her and Yomi smiled, eyes shining with curiosity. "Okay?"

"Sure."

"Over this way! Come on!" and she started to run up the street towards the hill that crowned the neighborhood.

"Mato, wait for me!"Yomi immediately gave chase, both girls giggling silly as Mato rushed at times, waited for Yomi, and then sprinted some more, like an over excited puppy wanting to play with a kitten.

Mato hadn't taken Yomi around this part of the neighborhood before, it hadn't felt quite right just yet for some reason, so it was a joy seeing the wonder on Yomi's face as they passed by the little park with cherry trees.

"Mato! Where are we going?" Yomi asked her, her eyes looking in wonder at the park around them.

Mato turned around in mid step, running backwards for a moment as she replied: "Wait until we get there!" She bounced and spun before rushing up the last stairs, three steps at the time and then turned around to see a slightly out of breath Yomi reaching the top.

"This is it, look!" Mato said, spinning with both arms spread wide apart. Yomi let out a gasp of surprise as she looked over the city. At just the right angle, the sun painted the entire city golden, with the mountains to the right and the ocean to the left framing the whole thing, making it look as if somebody had tried to make it look as beautiful as possible. The little park of cherry trees surrounded the top of the hill on all sides and a few dozens of meters below the guardrails, making it look as if they were even higher above the city, standing above a carpet made of leaves. It wasn't the right time of the year to see the sakura blooming, so she made a little note to bring Yomi next time, so they could have a picnic under the trees.

Mato took Yomi's hand as she approached the edge, giving it a little squeeze. "This is my favorite place."

Both girls leaned against the railing, letting a nice bit of comfortable silence hang over them. However, being still wasn't really Mato's strength.

She started to speak in a tentative voice that quickly gained strength. "When you look from here at the city somehow it just makes you feel better!" She sighed, putting a hand over her chest. "And it's not just the view, I don't know how to explain it, but... You know?" she shrugged, a little embarrassed at her lack of words but how could she explain what she felt when she stood over that hill?

That feel of belonging, not just to that hill, to that neighborhood but everywhere! It was as if the world wasn't such a big place anymore and when she looked up to the sky, day and night, she could almost reach out and touch the sun and stars.

Yomi closed her eyes and sighed. "I understand," she said quietly, leaning a little against Mato... but just as quickly she pulled away with a weird look on her face. Mato looked up at Yomi, a question in her eyes, but Yomi kept looking at the horizon as if she were seeking for something. "You like this city, don't you Mato?" she whispered.

Confused Mato only managed to answer the first thing that came to her mind. This was really the only city she knew, sure she had visited her grandparents out in the country, but she knew this city like the back of her hand. "Yes, I love it. Born and raised here!" she told her proudly.

The silence stretched for longer than Mato was comfortable with, and she was starting to get worried about Yomi, who only looked over the city with eyes that got sadder and sadder by the moment. "I've moved around since I was born," Yomi finally said in a voice so quiet Mato almost didn't hear it.

Mato blinked and she saw something... **the shadow on Yomi's eyes** shimmered as if they was a cloud, floating away from her friend as a little, beautiful, candle like light lit Yomi's eyes. The sunset wished it could be half as beautiful as that tiny and lonely glow...

In a beat, Mato felt something in her chest throbbing for a moment, almost as if that something was torn from within her, and she stared at Yomi with new eyes. The tomboy was many things, and as much as it ashamed her to admit it, being smart wasn't one of her better qualities. But there was something in Yomi's voice, something that was suddenly so calm and controlled... **'I don't... want to see you suffer'**... that Mato understood immediately.

"Well, you should stay here from now on," Mato said in a tone that almost matched Yomi's. "I hate... I hate the idea of you leaving..." she admitted, feeling an almost forgotten pain again in her chest but at the same time a determination that it was as if she needed to be there for Yomi in that right moment. She knew something incredibly important was going to happen, and Mato needed to be there.

Yomi looked at her out the corner of her eye and Mato felt her heart clenching painfully at that look. The surprise in there, almost as if those eyes couldn't believe her... When those green eyes looked away from her, Mato felt like reaching out and hugging her friend, even as that odd shadow flinched as if the light in Yomi's eye was pushing it away. "Yes, I want to stay..." Yomi said as if she were trying to convince herself...

**'Please, don't be sad...'**

Mato quickly dug into her pocket, retrieving a little green chain. "Ah! Here Yomi, this is for you!" she said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. Trying to make Yomi forget about those bad memories...

"Uh?" Yomi blinked cutely, bringing a real smile to Mato's face.

She let the chain hang from her fingers, leaving the green star visible at the bottom like the best catch of the day. "Isn't it cute? I bought it for you." She did her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. _'She's not going to hate it.'_

Yomi slowly reached a hand forward, almost as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "C-can I have it?" she whispered, her eyes looking hopefully at Mato.

Mato felt her cheeks burning up and she started to babble. "Of course, I mean, l-look, ah your phone! Yep your phone! Doesn't have any straps. I think it's lo-l-lonely. See, I've got this one. I really like it!" she told her, raising her own cell phone to show a kickass blue star hanging from a little chain.

Yomi took the little strap and held it between her hands, clutching it against her chest as if she were afraid it was going to fly away.

"Thanks!" Yomi's voice was soft, a happy tone that felt like a stab through Mato's chest. "… I'll take good care of it..." she promised, closing her eyes and suddenly she looked so incredibly happy, as if those bad memories had never been there to begin with.

Something within Mato stirred awake, something that had been missing for a while now, and Mato decided then that no matter what she would make sure Yomi was happy.

**'I will be forever right at your side, I'll make sure you will never suffer... Let me shelter you from that pain.' **

Never let her suffer the same thing again. Yomi was a wonderful person, she deserved to be happy and Mato could start fixing that right at that moment! She enveloped her friend in a hug, getting a startled 'eep' from the taller girl, and Mato buried her face on Yomi's shoulder.

_'I'll be always at your side, Yomi. You will never be alone ever again,'_ she promised to herself.

As a pair of trembling arms returned a hesitant hug, Mato felt her heart growing warm once again, but... for some reason, something within her kept sending those stabs of pain. Painfully being torn from her heart and given to somebody else...

But it didn't matter.

She would endure it as long as she needed to. If she could keep the pain away from her friend, Mato would do anything for her Little Bird.

**~Blue Flame~**

A heartbeat.

An ember blinking back to life.

The heart beat and the amber burned brighter for an instant.

Sadness. Pain. Suffering.

Another beat.

She didn't want them. They needed to be dealt with.

The ember grew hotter.

She hated that

_... Yomi doesn't deserve that..._

Two beats.

She would take all her pain away.

_**I would shelter you from that pain. **_

_I would make sure you are happy forever. _

The Heart called and the Ember answered.

Glowing eyes opened and the **blue of tears flooded the world**. With a silent cry she collapsed to her hands and knees as pain rushed through her being as if somebody were tearing every single piece of her apart.

_I don't like it when others are sad... _

She closed her eyes again and rose to her feet, bearing the spike that seemed to destroy her heart, her face devoid of any sign of the agony she was feeling.

_Seeing Yomi sad like that... _

Black blades burst around her, black and **blue blood** spraying through the air. The blades tore through her body, but she didn't flinch, even as the black mass of death grew around her like a living being in a matter of seconds, spreading like branches towards the sky.

_It breaks my heart seeing Yomi sad like that._

Agony exploded within her chest and the metallic forest stopped growing for a moment, trembling in place before the blades turned downwards and started to tear through the checkered ground. With savage movements large pieces of the landscape were sent flying away, discarded without a second thought. She stood up, uncaring of the debris raining around her and she simply stared down at the gaping wound on the ground that grew large and deeper under her impassive blue eyes.

At least, the black blades stopped and pulled back, shrinking back into the ground where they had come from just as she took a step closer to the dark abyss, and without a blink, let herself fall.

_'I wish... Everybody has some good in them so... I wish nobody would have to suffer any pain.'_

She thrust her right arm towards the sky and a blue flame danced around her gloved hand. In a blink, the blue flame grew and twisted, and pieces of black metal appeared within the flames, coming together in the form of a colossal cannon. Without missing a beat she aimed the weapon towards the dark.

"_If I could, I would make sure Yomi..." _

Three black rocks fired, encased in a ghostly blue flame, speeding into the dark. With a white glare they exploded and the world stopped existing for a moment.

"_I'll make sure nothing hurts you ever again, Yomi." _

A black blade jumped into her left hand and she stabbed the white void. With a metallic grinding sound, a tear appeared in front of her and she '_pushed_'. A myriad of colors flashed in front of her eyes and then there was disorientation for a moment when up was right before she spun in the air, rightening her fall to land gently atop a burned bridge. She looked up and noticed that the ruined structure was stretching towards an abandoned city in the distance.

Steel, stone and crystal stood in silence, reaching towards a checkered, sickly looking sky. A full moon hung low in the firmament, looking close enough the skyscrapers in the distance may have touched them. Chains connected many buildings together, while other chains seemed to just come from some point far high above the clouds. Most of the buildings were crumbling and debris lay hazardously around.

She spared a glance to the dead city before jumping down from her perch.

"**She's not here,"** she whispered, looking beyond the white mountains and black ocean surrounding the metropolis.

Her eyes found a spot beyond everything, a place that seemed to expand even as she looked at it. A growing whiteness that didn't seem to stop stretching in the horizon despite nothing around it changing at all. She closed her eyes, feeling something growing within her chest.

"**There." **

With no other sound she started to walk, deciding to go through the shortest route, moving through the empty and ruined streets. There was movement around her but she paid it no heed, focusing only on the world of endless white plains and **the one** she was looking for.

Finding her was all that mattered.

She walked past debris, decaying structures and the occasional chains scattered around, making her way over the river that led towards the black ocean.

Never stopping, never straying from her destiny for what felt like an eternity. She would keep on walking forever if she needed to, as long as she could find her.

Her eyes narrowed slightly and she slowed to a halt.

She looked left, to what could have been a liquor store at some point, now just a hollowed locale with one of its windows broken and many crates piled inside.

Her left eye started to glow and she stabbed the ground. With a twist and a flick, a tear appeared below her and she quickly reached down, pulling a white hand from the tear. Almost immediately a black clad arm followed after and then a hooded person came through, landing with a thud and a whimper on the dusty street.

Blue eyes stared down at the whimpering form, waiting as the new person, a girl, started to rise to her feet. Her gloved hand reached up to pull back her own hood as the other girl, **a purple Flame**, looked back at her with downcast eyes.

A black hand reached towards the taller girl, offering to help, and she waited.

"**It hurts." **

The purple eyed girl sobbed and swung an axe that suddenly appeared in her hand with a purple flash.

The blue-eyed girl didn't move, not when the axe came down towards her. She didn't move when the wicked black axe sunk into her collarbone with a sickening, wet crunch.

"**It hurts,"** the hooded girl repeated.

A brutal backhand threw the axe-wielder away, sending the large weapon flying in the opposite direction. The blue-eyed Flame stretched her arm towards the downed girl -the bleeding wound was covered in blue and black colors for a moment before it closed on its own- and the black cannon appeared in her grasp once again.

_'No...' _

The glowing blue eyes looked at the scared purple ones, searching for something in them. What she was looking for she didn't know, but she felt she should have known...she had something to do...

She wanted to pull the trigger and blow the whimpering girl's head of. Something simple, without need of further fighting.

But...

_'Don't!' _

She noticed the other girl had stopped shaking and was slowly rising to her feet. The backhand had been hard enough to knock the girl's hood back, and the blue Flame got her first clear look of the other girl's face.

She knew the face she was looking at was beautiful, something that could make other envious, even though she couldn't bring herself to figure out why.

The only thing she understood, that she could focus on, was the grief in those purple eyes.

There was a metallic sound to the left and the blue-eyed girl turned her head in that direction. Her eyes immediately found the source of the distraction: another person, with strange, large arms, as big as she was tall, standing atop a building on the other side of the river. She saw movement behind the person and she realized the sound had been caused by that metallic tail as it moved lazily about.

She blinked in confusion but she didn't have time to think about the newcomer as the girl whispered.

"**I miss them..."**

She immediately ignored the person with the great arms and turned to the other girl, feeling something within her chest being torn apart.

_'I wish nobody had to suffer...' _

"**They don't love me, the only think about their stupid store..." ****  
**  
The blue Flame tilted her head a little to the side as her cannon shifted and shrunk, taking the form of a black blade. She could recognize what she was seeing now. It was easy to understand.

"**I see them every day, but they...they no longer... I-I wish..." **

She stepped forward until she was just a few steps away from the other girl, and her hand clenched around her blade tighter.

_'No...' _

"**They will never love me again, will they?" **

She poised her black blade at shoulder level, glowing blue edge looking for the other girl's head.

_'… don't do it...' _

"**I miss my mama and my papa so, **_**so**_ **much... why do I have to love them...?" **

A leg inched forward, readying for the most power behind the incoming slash.

_'Don't do it.' _

"**I... loving them hurt so much if they will never love... I... it hurts... so much..." **

The blade flashed and-

"Stop it!"

Mato bolted upright and looked wildly around for a moment. Unfocused eyes did another round through the dark but she still found nothing and she finally slouched forward, letting out a shuddering sigh as her face rested against her palms. After long moments of silence she opened her eyes and looked down at her hands, relieved to find nothing on them, no black sword or **purple and black****...** she shook her head before she could finish the thought. Deciding to obey the friendly calls of her friendly pillow she unceremoniously flopped back on bed.

She went back up with a yelp and jumped out of bed.

She touched her shirt finding it completely drenched in sweat, and then quickly ran a hand through her hair, finding it just as damp. It had been a freaky bad nightmare, no wonder her bed was in such condition!

Sighing in defeat, Mato took off her shirt and shorts and threw them to the corner of the room, by her guitar, and put one of her small towels to work. Once she was dry enough she got in a fresh pair of boxers and continued working on her hair. Back to a more comfortable -and dry if a slightly colder- state she started to change her bed sheets.

She hummed a little tune and worked quickly, most of her nightmare already forgotten by then, but she knew she wasn't going to get any sleep with her bed in the condition it was in.

"Who was she?" Mato wondered out loud as she worked about.

Those **golden eyes** reminded her of somebody, really the only reason that part of the dream stuck with her at all, but that dark skin was very unique. She was sure she had never met somebody with such combination of colors...

In the end she decided to just forget about it too. For all she knew, she could have had paper-white skin, hair just as pale and pink eyes, and they would still be familiar to her.

Just a dream after all.

Once she came back from delivering the sheets to the washing machine she spared a look to her headboard, where her phone was resting, and groaned. It was just shy of four in the morning! Even if she finished right there and then, there was no way she would get any real sleep! She wanted to complain but there really was nothing to do other than keep on going.

With a pout she started to put on the new sheets, deciding to get things done. In no time she finished and slipped into a clean white shirt -with a pretty cool star right on the front-. After a moment of thought she snatched up her phone. She flopped on top of the bed sheets and stared at her phone for a long moment.

After what had happened a few days before she couldn't get Yomi out of her mind.

… Well, if she was honest, she usually thought about her Little Bird a lot, but that night she had barely eaten anything, feeling as if she would get sick at the mere memory of the look on Yomi's eyes...

She quickly snapped her phone open and wrote a little message, a little nothing, wishing Yomi a good morning -really hoping it wouldn't wake Yomi up in the process-, sent the message and closed the phone against her chest.

"It's okay," she whispered, bringing the phone up to her eyes, so the blue star hung in front of her. "I will make sure you are happy from now on. Things will get better, I'll make sure of it."

She hugged the fresh pillow, and nuzzled against it, staring at the phone. She wondered if Yomi was awake but she didn't really want to wake her Little Bird up.

She never realized when she fell sleep, a big smile still stretching her lips as she started to dream about a colorful sky, flying through white clouds and glowing stars, pulling Yomi with her, and occasionally, she thought she dreamed of checkered patterns, chains, and a girl with long black hair tied in wild and uneven ponytails, wearing black clothes with a white star drawn over her back.

The girl sometimes did things Mato would rather she didn't, but something about the long-haired girl made Mato feel safe, so it was okay in the end.

As she drifted deeper and deeper into her dreams, she sighed contentedly, knowing she would make Yomi feel happy and safe too.

She promised Yomi, and she was going to keep that promise no matter what.

_**End Chapter 1**. Continuará_

Well, here we go people. Sorry for the wait, I had been planning to upload this one sooner.

Seems there's more interest this time, I hope you people enjoyed this one!

If you didn't enjoy, then tell me how I can improve this and improve for the future too. If you enjoyed but think this could be better, then go ahead, hit me with what you have, help me make this as good as it can get.


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